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Paris Commune 1871

After the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War the first proletarian government was formed in Paris, based on the principles of the First International. The uprising began on March 18, 1871. In the agony of the revolt the painter Gustave Courbet destroyed the column of Vandôme Square. He was forced to pay the new one after his return from Switzerland. Suppressed by Gen. Marquis de Galliffet (1830-1909), the revolt ended bloodily in the cemetery Père Lachaise on May 28.